Vacuum cleaning device.



J. B. KIRBY.

VACUUM CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLICATION HLED NOV. 15, 1913.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

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J. B. KIRBY.

VACUUM CLEANING DEVICE.

Q r I APPLlCATlON FlLED NOV. 15, 19I3. 1,209,721. Patented Dec. 26,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET' 2.

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VACUUM CLEANING DEVICE- APPLICATION mu) NOV. 15. 1913.

Patented Dec. 26,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3 e To all whom it may concern: I

' JAMns stame s or CLEVELAND, 01110.

j jvaouum-cnnamne DEVICE;

Specification of Letters Patent. 3 Patented Dec 26',1 916;. Original application filed March so, 1912, Serial No. 687,510. Renewed ne st d, Sela in.

813,110. This continuation-application filed Novex nber 15, 1913. Serial n $01 ,125,

Be it known that I, JAMES Emin nt KIRBY,

. a. citizen of the United States, residingat Cleveland, in. the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Vacuum .Qlean- H ing Devices, of which the following is a full, v be desirable. I

clear and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to, vacuum cleaning machines and has for itsob ect the provlslon of a device of thischaracter whichwill. clean which the machineis passed andythese de rugs, carpets, andother floor coverings more. rapidlynnd efficiently than previous devices.

The principle of this invention conslstsm this,.that sweeping, brushing, .beating, or

other agitating devices, locatedlwithin the" .inlet mouth of the apparatus are operated by means of an air moto-r or like contrivance,

connected to the high-pressure sidefof the exhaust fan; further and subsidiaiyfeatures relate tothe location of the air duct so as to receive the least possible amount of dust,

cient machine is produced whichwill oper- 7 ate close to the Walls and corners and which y can be introduced beneath the furniture with a minimum of 0b'struction.., y In the performance of my said invention I preferably employ a vacuum cleaner of the type having a fan casing and a hollowbody "or shoe adjacent to each other, the shoe com 7 municating with the fan casing at its region of low pressure, and the'high pressure region of said fan casing being connected to a po-c rous bag orlike device whereby the dust and air are separated and a. material obstruction oifered to the escape of the air. The fagitat ing devices arelocated in the mouth of this hollow body or shoe so as to co-me in contact with the carpets, rugs or other, fabrics over" vices arejdriven or operated by meansof a blast of air passing through a duct connected with the high pressure region of said fan). casing and preferably discharging into said I hollow body'or shoe. The-force of thi s air blast is applied to. the agitating deyices by means of vanes, feathers, wings, orlthe. like a tolas maybe convenient; The agita' vices themselves may consist of I heaters, loose rings; or other Isilitadof lbers', and maybe mounted either ap aro- Qiormer] application fil d? nu f g 1914,

rial No. 813,110; which. int

In the drawings ache-mp sectional view takenllupon; th

of the end bearings preferablyj enip yed with the devices shown. in

Y arrangementj .Fig. 8 is a verti caly longitudinal, sect1onal' .v1ew through a modified and-the same may be connected to theagitating devices or maybe geared th tatabfle'shaft or en oscillatingc dejviea jmay' This applicatio i medita ion new'al 0fty tfiarlier apl li March 30, 1912, Serial ing apart of this'applica tra ted several forms of co invention maylbeembodied, I In these drawings F igure lj' is a tive view of a completeya'c niclea of the type referred to; Figl'2jisayertical, longitudinal, v sectional view I through such. a device .disclosing a preferred form' 'o fthe" invention; Fig. 3 is ai bottom plan the deviceillustrated in Fig.9?

Fig.2, and looking the dire arrows; Fig. 5 1s a perspect ye v e\y a viewsilnilar to Fig, 4 showing almediiied construction of brush" and turbine. the same,

. correspondingto the lin fi e g 7 i's1a detailview taken iiponthe line 7f'7 ofFig. v6 and showing the gear an d turbine form of cleaner and agitating device; Fig. 9 1s a cross-sectional view of the same taken 'uponthe line9 9 of Fig. 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows; 10 is a 9 0 ,vertica l, longitudinal, sectional view throligh.

another modified 'tyoeof the, cleaner and agi Ytating device; Fig. '11 is a bottom plan view (of the parts. shown in Fig, 10 1'2 is a perspective view of some of the'parts illusrated" in Figs. 10 and 1'1 Fig a cross sectionof the beater shaft and partsfmount ed thereon-j, Figfl l is a longitudinalflsed tio-nal view of the said shafta'nd the parts thereon; and Fig. 15 isa viewj'pfanother modification showing the use of an oscillatin motor. This invention concerns particularly type of vacuum cleaner illustrated in Fig. 1 comprising a shoe or suction casing illustrated generally at A, a motor inclosed within a casing B adjacent thereto, a handle C attachedto the shoe or motor casingby means of. the fork D or other suitable means, and a dust bag E connected to the fan casing and adapted to retain the dust while permitting the 'slow' escape of the air, the whole being preferably supported upon suitable rollers F. In its preferred embodiment the shoe or base member consists of a metal casing having therein a substantially cylindrical fan chamber 1- and having mounted thereabove and coaxial therewith a suitable electric.m0tor 2 having a shaft 3 to the lower end of which is attached the fan 4 which rotates freely within the casarranged tangentially thereto is an outlet beak 7 to the end of which is attached the porous bag E, the mouth. of that bag pref- V er'ably being provided with a suitable check valve as shown.

The lower part of the shoe beneath the plate 5 is preferably extended laterally in both directions as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 and is provided with an elongated, downwardly-opening mouth 10 defined by spaced substantially parallel lips'1l--12. The formationof the shoe is perferably suchthat all parts of the month are in free and direct communication with the opening 6 so that a substantially uniform suction is exerted over all parts of thesame, but the mouth is generally set forward of the opening 6 a considerable distance as illustrated in Fig. 2 so as to permit the machine to operate close to'walls, furniture, etc. The wall of the shoe opposite the opening 6 is preferably apertured as shown at 13 andprovided with a removable cover 14 for permitting a hose to be attached directly in the opening 6 whereby cleaning walls, draperies, etc. x

In the .wall of the fan chamber .1 at a point substantially opposite the outlet 7 I have illustrated a small chamber 15, the

same being-here shown as separated from the mam fan chamber by means of a screen '16 secured in place by having the metal of the chamber wall cast about it or in other suitable manner, such chamber 15 being placed incommunication with the interior of the mouth by means of an air duct 17. Secured within the mouth 10 beneath this extension tools can" be employed for provided with bearings 22 received. in

sockets .23, formed in blocks 24 slidably mounted in vslots 25 formed in free legs of U springs 26 the other legs .ofjwhich are secured to the walls of the shoe. With this construction the weight of the brushes will cause them to fall to their lowest possible position during the time that the machine is in use, while the carpet or other floor covering will be sucked upwardly into the mouth as shown in Fig. 2. Accordingly the mechanism is entirely operative even though the brush be mounted a' sufficient distance within the shoe'so. as in no instance to project-beyond the lips 1112, and such is the arrangement which I prefer-because of the greater safety of the brush;

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated a slightly diiferent arrangement, wherein the.

brush 20, insteadof being secured directly to the shaft of the turbine 19, is geared thereto, the brush shaft preferably. being provided'with an internal gear 30 meshing with a pinion 31 secured to the shaft of the turbine. The inner end of the brushes are preferably journaled in sockets 32 formed legs of U springs 26. Inthe latter instancethe brush 20 is shown as cylindrical, although any desired shap'e'of brush can be employed. In either case it is sufficient to remove the brush merely to draw together the legs of the springs 26 whereupon the brush can be immediately removed .for cleaning. The internal gears are set within flanges 33 formed upon the walls of the turbine casing so as to shield the gears from dust and lint y In Figs. 8 and 9 the fan casing .is shown at 1*, the fan as, the exhaust beak at 7*, the pressure chamber at 15 and the pressure consists of a pair of brushes 20 -420 mounted upon a single shaft 35 which carries at a pointopposite theduct 17 one or more suitable turbine wheels 19 no casing being employed in thiscase. Each end of the'shaft 35 is providedwith'a bearing 36 which is received in a socket 37 formed in one of the arms of a lever 38 which is pivoted at 39, the opposite end of said lever duct at17. In this case the agitating device being formed with a counterweight 40. The weight of thebrush and turbine is preferably such as slightly to overbalance the counterw'eights, so that the brushes will bear upon the floor or floor covering with a gentle pressure. The downwardgeffect of the air blast upon the turbine wheels will also tend to increase this pressure. This arrangement permits the use of a large brush and more fragile bristles with a minimum of wear and tear.

In Figs. 10 to 14 inclusive I haveillustrated another construction wherein a single shaft 45 is employed, the same being sprung into suitable bearings 46 carried at the ends of the shoe, and the shaft being provided with a plurality of vanes 47 carried along its length andarranged to receive pressure air through a passageway 17 communicating with thehigh-pressure region of the fan chamber. In the present instance the interior of the shoe is illustrated as formed with a' flange 48 whereby the air issuing from this duct may be directed 'upon the vanes, this duct being of much greater lat eral extent than in the previous modification owing. tothe longitudinal separation of the vanes. Also in this case I have shown. ringshaped beaters interspersed with the vanes and adapted to agitate the carpet-or other fabric, while in Fig; 14 I have illustrated brush fibers interspersed with the same and arranged to agitate the'dust particles.

According to the .constructlonlllustrated in Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive, sheet metal blanks are folded at one side to form hollow tubes 50 adapted to be sleeved upon the shaft 45, those tubes and shafts being preferably of prismatic form, separated portions, of the blankbeing extended outwardly and curved laterally to receive the air. Between adjacent vanes the metal of theblank is rolled to form an eccentric annular part 51 thus producing a cam, and upon each of these cams is mounted a loosely fitting ring 52 of hard rubber or like material. Each of the vanes 47 is preferably extended lengthwise of the shaft a greater distancethan its correspondlng tube 50 so as substantially to engage the adjacent edge of the cam of the next section, wherefore these vanes'define accurately-the positions of the beater-rings and prevent longitudinal movement of the same. The result is that upon the revolution of the shaft 45 the rings 1 52 are-vibrated rapidly up and down, being thrown violently against the carpet or other covering at every revolution. i

In case fibers or brushes be desired the same can be provided as illustrated 'in,Fig. 14. In this case the shaft 45 is illustrated as apertured at '55 and bristles 56, passed therethrough, the same being thereafter In' Fig. 15 I haveshown a simple form of oscillating motor or flutter-device comprising a 'rockjshaft 60 pivoted inside the shoe 1 pivoted in line with theslot and suitably connected to the shaft 60 as. by means of a rod 65. The air passing through the duct 17 will-be thrown first upon one vane and then ou the other, vibrating the brush and agitating the dust particles withinthe fabric.

It will be apparent that the agitating devices contemplated by this invention may take a great variety of different forms of Which'those illustrated" herein are merely a suggestion. The arrangement of the pressure duct as illustrated in Fig. 4 is more satisfactory than others because of the fact that less dust appears to pass through itwhen it is led from the bottom part of thefan chamber than when it is led from a point more directly in. front of .the fan as shown in Fig. 8. 'I-Iowe'ver, only a small amount of air passes through this ductand thatamount is immediately returned to the fan by way of the openingfi. Also the location of this duct at the greatest possible distancefrom the discharge beak 7 results in the. highest possible pressure. In addition the obstruction to the escape of the air produced by the bag or whatever other dust disposing means be employed increases the pressure within the fan chamber and so enhancesthe power of the turbine.

inner wall of the shoe as provided with a jslideway .aadapted for.the reception of a slidably plate a. Ordinarily, of -course, the dust discharged through this duct is reto attach a hose in the Y turned directly-to the fan via the opening 6. 7

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,

I declare that what I claim is:

1. In a vacuum cleaning machine, in combination, a fan chambeiya centrifugal fan therein, said chamber having an inlet adjacent to the low pressure region of said fan chamber and an outlet in one part of the high-pressure region thereof, a shoe having therein an' air inlet passage, floor engaging agitating mechanism in said shoe, a

connection between said inlet passage and a bart of said high-pressure region removed fromsaid outlet, whereby a blast ofair' is diverted into said shoe, and driving devices operatively connected to said agitating mechanism and located in the line of said bla'st. i

2. A vacuum cleaningmachine having-a fan chamber and a shoe, said shoe havlng nected to said agitating devices.

3. A vacuum cleaning machine having a am chamber and a shoe, said shoe having therein an inlet passage communicating with the low pressure region of said fan chamber, a shaft journaled in said shoe, vanes mounted onsaid shaft, an air duct connected with the high pressure region of said fan chamber and arranged to direct upon said vanes the air passing there-- throughgand agitating devices operatively connected to said shaft.

"4. A vacuum cleaning machine having a fan chamber and an elongated, downwardly facing inlet mouth, an exhaust fan in said chamber, said inlet mouth communicating witl s'aid chamber' adj'ace'nt to the low pressure region of said fan and said chamber having a discharge outlet at one pointin the high-pressure.region thereof, a rotatable agitatingl'devicelocated in said inlet mouth, and an air motor op'eratively connected. to saidagitating device, there being a pressureair duct communicating with thehigh-pressure region of said fan chamber at a point removed from said 'discharge'outlet and arranged to supply air to said motor.

5. In a vacuum cleaner, the combination of a fan 'and its chamber, a'shoe communicating with said chamber and having an'inlet month, an agitating device in said mouth, adapted to "operate on the surface to be cleaned, an air motor driven by the blast from said fan, said chamber communicating witlrsaid shoe to deliver the blast to the motor, and the motor being operatively connected to the agitating device;

'6. In a vacuunrcleaner, the combination of a fan chamber having an axial inlet opening, and peripheral outlet openings located respectively at opposite sides oflsaid chamber, a centrifugal fan in said chamber, a shoe communicating with said inlet opening, and a dust receptacle communicating with one of said outlet openings, the other outlet opening communicating with the shoe to deliver a blast into the same.

, 7 A vacuum cleaning machine havin a fan chamber anda hollow body, there being an air inlet passage connecting the interior of said hollow body with the low pressure region of said fan chamber anda pressure duct connecting the interior of said hollow body with the high-pressure portion of said fan chamber, a rotary turbine mounted with- 5 in said hollow body and arranged to be 0p- 1,ooo,7a1

erated by the air passing through said duct, vand agitating devices .operatively connected to ls'a it i lf Y 8. z Ar vacuuml cleaning machine having a Iajnmhamber anda shoe, therebeing anain inlet passage connecting the interior of said shoe-witl ;1;.the low pressure region of said fan chamberand a pressure duct connecting the interior of said shoe with the high-pressure portion ofsaid fan chamber, operating 1 devices arranged 1n line with said duct and adapted to be driven by the'air passing therethrough, and agitating devices located within said shoe and operatively connected tosaid operating devices, said agitating devices beingyieldingly connected to said shoe so as to limittheir pressure upon the floor. 7

- 9. A vacuum cleaning machine having a fan chamber and a hollow body, there being analr inlet passageconnecting the nterior of said hollow body with the low pressure region of said fanchamber and a pressure duct connecting the interior of said hollow body with the high-pressure portion of said fan chamber, operating devices arranged in line with said duct and. adapted to be driven by the air passing therethrough, and floor engaging agitating devices operatively'connected to said operating devices so as to be driven thereby, said agitating devices being detachably mounted in said hollow body so as to facilitate the removal of lint therefrom.

; 10. In a suctioncleaner, a hollow body having a fan chamber and a collecting shoe communicating therewith, an exhaust fan in said fan chamber, said shoe having an inlet mouth, and the wall of the shoe being formed with an air-passageway, and floor engaging agitating devices located wholly within said to said vanes, the wall of the nozzle being formed with an air passageway debouching upon said vanes and communicating with a region of higher pressure. I

12. In a cleaner, a fan chamber, a suction nozzle, one of the walls ofsaid suction nozzle having a passageway communicating with the high-pressure side of the fan chamber, a shaft within said nozzle and having vanesin line. with said passageway,l and work engaging agitating devices located in said inlet mouthand operatively connected to said shafts i I v i 13. In a cleaner, asuction nozzle having an elongated inlet mouth, ashaft journaled inside said nozzle and having radiating *anes, the wall of said nozzle being formed with an air passageway debouching upon sand vanes, and work-engegmg agltntmg mechanism located in said inlet month and epemtlvely conneeted to said :umpted to be dnven thereby.

shaft and In testimol ly whereof, I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES BLAINE KIRBY. Witnesses HAROLD E. SMITH, BRENNAN B. WEST. 

